(photo Jacqueline Ramseyer/Bay Area News Group/April 30, 2014)
Construction equipment is seen on April 30 around the future Apple 2 campus at the corner of N. Tantau Avenue and Homestead Road on the border of Cupertino and Sunnyvale. Local residents are wondering why they are seeing construction done in, and around, the campus during the weekends.

Motorists can enjoy traveling down Pruneridge Avenue for a little while longer before it becomes one with the core of Apple Campus 2. The street will remain open as long as road and utility work continues on Wolfe and Homestead roads, according to the city of Cupertino.

The ring-shaped Apple Campus 2 project calls for Pruneridge Avenue between Wolfe Road and Tantau Avenue to be permanently closed to all but Apple employees, so as to create an integrated campus with current Apple properties and the new facility at the former Hewlett-Packard site.

Access to the Hamptons Apartment Homes will remain.

Electronic signs near the campus initially said in March that the road would close April 2, but that has been delayed while work continues on the surrounding streets. Motorists in Cupertino and Sunnyvale will surely notice that major road work continues to progress on Wolfe and Homestead roads.

Motorists can expect traffic delays in and around the future Apple Campus 2 site bounded by Homestead and Wolfe roads and Pruneridge and Tantau avenues. Through May 11, the right-hand lane along Wolfe and Homestead will be from closed from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with right turns prohibited by large trucks on eastbound Homestead Road. Trucks are instead advised to use Pruneridge Avenue.

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The south sidewalk on Homestead Road will remain closed through June 6, and daily lane closures continued through the end of this week. Left turns are also prohibited from westbound Homestead Road onto southbound Tantau Avenue from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Tantau Avenue through May 9 experienced daily lane closures and a left turn prohibition onto westbound Homestead Road daily from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A detour for right-hand turns onto eastbound Homestead Road is also in effect through May 9.

Cyclists have unrestricted use of Pruneridge Avenue, while bike lanes are closed on eastbound Homestead. Bikes may use full lanes on Homestead eastbound and Tantau northbound and southbound during lane closures.

Utility relocation work on Homestead is scheduled for completion in early June, and the Pruneridge Avenue closure will follow shortly after. Work on Tantau is scheduled to be completed next week, according to a city staff update to the city council on May 6.

Construction work hours are from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, with additional traffic restrictions occurring between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Apple is able to do some work on the weekends; however, no construction can be done in the street within 750 feet of residential development and work on site has reduced hours, according to city staff.

The city has a website devoted exclusively to construction-related updates for Apple Campus 2. The website went live in early December to keep residents informed about construction activities and related roadway impacts. The web page also features a tentative project schedule timeline.

Street utility work is ongoing and is expected to last into the second quarter of 2014, with demolition of the HP site mostly complete.

Earthwork is under way and will last into the second quarter of 2015. Construction of buildings will start in the second quarter of 2014 and will last into and beyond the fourth quarter of 2016.

The Apple Campus 2 project will see the demolition of roughly 2.66 million square feet of existing office, research and development buildings and the eventual construction of 3.42 million square feet of new office space, as well as a 1,000-seat auditorium, fitness center, valet parking center, utility plant and parking structure.